SOJOURNER

Inaugural Exhibition – Selection by Open Call

Group exhibition at Sojourner Gallery, New York

Opening Reception : Thursday, February 9, 2023, from 6 PM to 9 PM
Exhibition : From February 9 to March 15, 2023
Adress : Sojourner Gallery, 446 West 34th Street, 4e étage, New York, NY 10001
Curator : Kyoko Sato

Exhibited artists

Andrew Chan, Arlene Rush, Chihiro ITO, China Blue, Chin Chih Yang, Ebenezer Singh, Egon Zippel, Franck Saïssi, Isolde Kille, Joseph Ayers, Joseph Fraia, Kate Fauvell, Kenji Kojima, Lilia Ziamou, Lily Kostrzewa, Loy Luo, Max Fujishima, Michele Brody, Nina Sobell, Ola Rondiak, Richard Rothenberg, Sadie Bridger, Seth Ellison, Taiyo Okamoto, Takuya Sugiyama, Tom Judd, Toshiki Hayasaka, William Evertson, Yoyo Xiao, Yuji Hamamura, Yukari Edamitsu, Zhang Lanjun, Zhang Zheyi

SOJOURNER celebrates the opening of a new exhibition space in New York, located just steps from Hudson Yards at 446 West 34th Street. This inaugural exhibition, stemming from an international call for submissions, was designed to showcase artists from around the world, united by a universal theme: transition, movement, and the search for belonging.

Sojourner (n.) – Temporary resident, passing traveler, stranger staying for a while in a place.
— Webster’s Dictionary

The history of art in New York has been largely shaped by artists who came from elsewhere: De Kooning, Dali, Duchamp, Mekas, Yoko Ono, Yayoi Kusama... These “sojourners” have shaped an ever-changing artistic landscape, where migration becomes a source of identity exploration and aesthetic renewal.

Inspired by this history, the exhibition explores contemporary forms of exile, resilience, and creation: social crises, inequalities, environment, gender, institutional violence… Each artwork offers a personal, often intimate, perspective on these themes.

Finally, the exhibition pays tribute to the iconic figure of Sojourner Truth, a 19th-century African American activist, formerly enslaved, who became a leading voice for civil rights and gender equality. Her name, adopted by NASA’s first Mars rover in 1996, continues to symbolize the quest for truth, justice, and exploration beyond boundaries.